Three Generations of Athletic Involvement Due to Title IX

In June 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the Title IX document into federal law. Title IX was written with such details and yet said nothing about athletics. Those 37 words had an impact that changed everything.

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Granted, the signing of the educational amendments did not cause instant implementation of girls sports in high schools. In fact, it was not until 1975 when regulations were issued which required high school athletics to comply within three years. However, many schools were on board and took the opportunity to express the importance of athletics for ALL students before the 1978 deadline.

Before 1972, Pine Island High School in Minnesota had offered a version of girls athletics called GARA, Girls Athletic and Recreation Association. Some of the sports offered were volleyball, basketball and swimming, and Pine Island would play against other schools in a variety of sports. While it was not interscholastic athletics, many girls participated and it laid the groundwork for what was to come.

As Title IX was signed in June of 1972, Pine Island began to prepare and plan, such as order uniforms, order equipment, create a schedule and find coaches. The plan was to launch volleyball in 1973 as one of the interscholastic girls sports that would be offered (along with gymnastics and basketball). Pine Island’s transition was smooth as it already had the interest and support from the years of offering sports through GARA.

In 1973, the girls physical education teacher, Nancy Kent, was asked if she wanted to coach volleyball, and she jumped at the chance. Kent went to take a course that summer that enabled her to become a head coach. She had to do some recruitment of girls for the team, but most were already on board due to GARA.

Pine Island won the conference volleyball championship in its first year as an interscholastic sport. Although the girls volleyball team and girls basketball team wore the same uniforms the first years, the administration was very supportive with uniforms, knee pads and anything Kent thought she might need. After competing in volleyball in the winter the first season, it was played in the fall the following year.

Coach Kent recalls when volleyball became a fall sport. She noticed the football team was having two practices a day, so she decided to do the same. Kent was able to create an atmosphere of hard work and perseverance. She indicated that she had great support, including her husband, who would bring her baby daughter, Heather, to games so Nancy could spend time with her because he supported her coaching endeavors.

Kent noted that she was fortunate to have coached in a very supportive atmosphere. This included her athletic director, administration and parents. In fact, by the third volleyball season, 50 athletes wanted to play. That number within itself speaks volumes for the atmosphere and culture of the school.

Throughout her tenure, Kent coached many sports and many levels of girls athletics. She was also a physical education teacher and loved all forms of athletics. She was groundbreaking being the first volleyball coach at her high school, and she enjoyed every opportunity put in front of her.

Heather, Coach Kent’s daughter, grew up with the idea that girls could play and do anything. As an only child, she felt supported in any sport she wanted to play. Her mom coached different levels and different sports, and Heather was on many of those teams coached by her mother.

Heather graduated from Pine Island High School with a sense of encouragement to go out in the world and do anything she wanted. She had been given the foundation of knowing no boundaries as a result of Title IX. The support given by her mother had worked its way down into the next generation to realize their possibilities.

Heather, now a mom of two – daughter, Brooke, and son, Jarrett – knows the importance of athletics. She provided Brooke an opportunity to play many sports, including volleyball, basketball, gymnastics and dance. Heather felt dance gave her daughter the confidence she needed as she eventually chose volleyball, basketball, softball, and track and field when she got to high school.

Heather recalled one time the boys in Brooke’s grade were egging on her team because they were girls. So, Heather organized a basketball game between the sixth-grade girls and the sixth-grade boys. The girls ended up winning that event, and both Heather and Brooke both have fond memories of that today. As this situation would be avoided today, sports enable many memory-making opportunities that all athletes deserve to experience.

Brooke worked hard in high school, both academically and athletically. Basketball ended up being her favorite sport. She excelled in sports and scored 1,169 points in her basketball career. She was also the Female Athlete of the Year. Brooke knew no boundaries as she was raised in an environment of opportunities to compete and excel – both in school and at home.

The women in Brooke’s life are very outgoing and strong women. She knew nothing different other than support and encouragement from her mother and father, and even her grandparents. As Brooke has now graduated from Pine Island High School, she reflects that she is empowered. The men and women who surrounded her grandmother, Nancy Kent, and mother, Heather, with the utmost support, have left a ripple effect as Brooke is studying clinical exercise science in college. She is not afraid to speak up and say what she knows.

Title IX has empowered many women throughout America. The strength of the men and women to push for this opportunity is still causing ripple effects today. Even in rural schools in America, girls and women were allowed to experience the joys of interscholastic sports. The Nancy, Heather and Brooke story is one of many that could be told as the ripple effect of Title IX continues on.